Virtual reality in pain relief during chronic wound dressing change

To assess the effect of virtual reality in pain relief during chronic wound dressing change.

This is an experimental study carried out with 17 participants, in a stomatherapy clinic in Ceará, Brazil, from June to December 2019, using the virtual reality glasses Oculus Go®. Sociodemographic and clinical information, as well as of lifestyle, and characteristics of the lesions were collected. A faces scale and a visual analogue scale were used for pain assessment, behavioral aspects assessment, satisfaction, and discomfort with Oculus Go®. The Chi-square, McNemar, and Wilcoxon tests were used. The study was approved under opinion No. 2.649.144/2019.

There was a reduction in pain during dressing change with Oculus Go®. Participants with Oculus Go® manifested less pain during (p < 0.001) and after (p < 0.001) dressing change; and had lower heart rate before (p = 0.044) and after (p = 0.001) the procedure. There were significant differences between groups in systolic (p = 0.012) and diastolic (p = 0.004) blood pressure values after dressing. Virtual reality did not cause any discomfort and participants were satisfied.

Virtual reality showed positive effects in pain relief during chronic wound dressing change.